Righting the global economy without aggravating the ravages of the immediate past was a priority, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told businesspeople in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

At the moment, economists were "floundering", he told a Centre for Education in Economics and Finance fundraising dinner at the Johannesburg Country Club.

The US budget deficit had increased almost sevenfold and Britain's nearly fourfold within a year, while Saudi Arabia's budget balance had gone from a 12,8% surplus to an 8% deficit.

"These are not the worst, by a long shot, but they present the picture of the speed of transition from well-managed economies with a positive picture, to one that tells the story of countries heading rapidly into the abyss."

Few of the stimulus packages of the world's largest economies had escaped criticism - including those of the US and Western Europe. The shining beacon was that of China.

While Manuel said he did not want to "draw attention to the failure of multilateralism", he nevertheless said China's success begged the questions whether the country would be "willing" to lead the world, or whether the world would "acquiesce" to Chinese leadership.

"Or will the recognition that the Western model for development has failed be too much asked?" Manuel asked.

"How different may this situation have been, if the world's wealthiest countries had conceded to peer review or some outside influence," he said.

He emphasised that concentration now should be on "the monumental and collective effort to get the global economy out of its current hostile environs".

Debate on its "great destination" - to a more caring socialism, less excessive capitalism or a hybrid that would support innovation and reduce inequality - could wait, he said.

As far as South Africa was concerned, Manuel said the country might not be doing too badly.

However, even though the economy was not deteriorating at a rate as intense as in many other countries, the government continued to "carefully" monitor signs.